I really love breaks. I enjoy being able to sleep in, and I find an unidentifiable joy in having Mike leave for work before me. I like setting up day-long routines for myself that include breakfast, reading, working out, naps, and minimal work. Needless to say, I've been looking forward to this two week holiday break since, oh, about September 1.

Here's the issue, though. As I get older, I find that there is more to do over my breaks. When I was in third grade, all I would do is read. And maybe empty the dishwasher, or take care of another random chore. But now, there are adult things that have to be taken care of, like grocery shopping, and laundry, and errands. And then, when all of your friends are educators and on break at the same time, there's the beautiful opportunity to socialize. But with holidays also comes family, and all of a sudden a two week break becomes a bit of a relay, running from family to friends to rest time to errands and more movement to and fro.

I started off this holiday break with a rousing 48-hour stomach flu, and just hit the ground running after that. It was fantastic! I saw family and friends, and played games, and spent the holidays surrounded by people I love. But in the back of my mind, I was also constantly nagged by the thought that I was putting off my grading. And now, at 8.00 p.m. the night before school starts up again, I'm surrounded by a pile of things that really should have been graded 10 days ago. And I'm blogging about it. Hello, responsibility!

I should probably go do something more productive. Happy new year! I hope you had a nice break.